


Broken Strings

by Greybin (TyunnieBFF)



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Break Up, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Relationship, Pining, Red String of Fate, Sad, Slow Burn, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:20:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23442352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyunnieBFF/pseuds/Greybin
Summary: Hueningkai who can see the red string of fate cuts off his and Taehyun's after falling out of love with himNot knowing Taehyun can see it too
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Huening Kai, Choi Yeonjun/Kang Taehyun, Huening Kai/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 24
Kudos: 138





	Broken Strings

"Hyuka...do you believe in soulmates?" Taehyun asks out of the blue, head resting on Hueningkai's shoulder as he keeps his gaze on the notebook in his hands. Hueningkai jerked to the side at the question, making Taehyun raise his head to look at him. "Why...do you ask?" he pried his eyes from his phone to look at Taehyun.

Taehyun grins, a fond smile on his face "I believe they are real, the concept of a pair of people made for each other and connected by the red string of fate on their pinky fingers, it's so...interesting"

He raised his pinky up, looking at it with sparkles in his eyes. "I wonder….maybe we could be soulmates" Heuningkai smiled at his boyfriend and raised his own hand to connect their pinkies.

In his eyes, the string looked more like red rings on their pinkies now that it's connected. 

"Even if we aren't, I'll still love you Hyunnie" Taehyun giggled when Hueningkai easily grabbed him by the waist and planted pecks of kisses all over his face. His Hands however roamed around to tickle the slightly older male "Hyukaaaa~!" 

"Ew lovebirds tone down the PDA please! Some of us are single here!" Yeonjun called out to them, "C'mon we got practice Hyunnie!!"  
_

Taehyun is surfing the web on his notebook while slouching on his desk. "Hyunnie! I got Bingsu, do you want some?" He hears Beongyu call out to him. "No thank you hyung" he mumbled, thinking about how Hyuka left just now with Soobin to eat that. .

He also thought about these past few weeks, Hueningkai clinging to Soobin as if they were attached by the hips or how the youngest declined going on dates, telling Taehyun comeback is near and they should focus. But then jumps at any opportunity to hang out with Soobin alone. 

Jealousy was one thing, but Taehyun isn't the type to take out his feelings on the people around him, he silently buries his emotions and doesn't think of how Hueningkai stopped sneaking into his bed at night, he goes to Soobin now. 

Taehyun doesn't think of how much it hurts him to feel abandoned, to not have Hyuka give him cuddles and kisses anymore. He tries not to dwell on the fact Hueningkai is slowly pushing him away. And that was his biggest mistake or rather, the biggest sign he was going to get really hurt.

He closes the notebook and sighs, hands shaking as tears trail down his cheeks. He hoists himself up and climbs the bunk bed, pulling out his phone to scroll through his many memories with Hueningkai when they were together.

The first selfie as a couple they took the night before their debut, the day they confessed their feelings. It was kinda blurry, the lightning was all wrong because it was nighttime and they looked like babies. Taehyun softly smiled, he remembered that day like it was moments ago.

_The two of them are squished together on one bed, arms tangled together and the only audible sound was the snores of their hyungs from below and their steady breathing. "I'm scared," Hueningkai whispered, Taehyun hums and nuzzles himself into the other's neck._

_"You'll be fine, I'm nervous too...and scared...but...this is finally it isn't it? we're debuting" They stayed like that for a few minutes, unable to fall asleep._

_"I like you.." Taehyun suddenly says, Hueningkai was so surprised Taehyun was ready to wave it off and sleep because the youngest wasn't responding to him._

_"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for-" he couldn't finish his words when a pair of warm lips met his own. Hueningkai with his face so red it was obvious even in the dark pulled away shyly, "I like you too…." It made Taehyun's heart jittery with happiness._

_He sees Hyuka's hand suddenly reaching for something "What are you doing..?" Taehyun giggled silently when he saw Hueningkai fumbling his phone with one hand since the other had managed to sneak around Taehyun's waist to hug him close._

_"Are you for real Hyuka?" he whispers but the maknae throws him a playful smile and positioned the phone cam._

_"Smile Hyunnie~"_

It was a night filled with wreaking nerves and shared feelings, he felt more connected to the younger while he was there, safely wrapped in Hueningkai loving arms. There hadn't been a night in the dorm since then when they slept separately. They never told the hyungs, but they seemed to know anyway. 

Taehyun sniffs, eyes pooling with threatening tears. He scrolls through more pictures, letting himself drown in all these memories. Memories that should not have hurt, they were supposed to make him grin stupidly and flutter his heart yet with each swipe, he feels his dam breaking little by little.

Cold liquid trails down his cheeks almost never endingly at one particular picture. It was…..their first anniversary date, the day before their first debut anniversary. Taehyun had taken Hueningkai out to a cat cafe to take a break from Fanlive preparations.

_"Hyunnie are you sure-" But Taehyun shushed him with a peck on his neck, he still can't believe Hyuka grew so much taller now, almost as tall as Soobin! "Managernim agreed plus you and I aren't behind in anything"_

_He likes seeing Hyuka all flustered and shy each time he kisses him, a contrast to how confident the other got when doing the same to Taehyun. "You really didn't have to…." But all words died from his throat leaving only squeals and high pitched screams when he saw the kitties._

_They sat down to sip on their ordered drinks in a private room and Hueningkai pouted when all the cats only wanted to go to Taehyun. Taehyun snickered at him, hands busy petting the many cats and kittens._

_"Hyunnie~! I'm your boyfriend! Pay attention to meeee! It's our anniversary!" Taehyun shakes his head and sticks his tongue out at him._

_He raises one kitty up and kisses it's nose, giggling when he hears Hyuka whining at how Taehyun chose cats over him. "Okay jelly kitty...c'mere" he lets go of the kittens only for Hueningkai to jump at him, they were sitting crossed legged on the floor._

_But now the boy had Taehyun trapped underneath him, smirking cheekily and began to attack Taehyun's face with kisses. "S-stop it!! Hyuka!! Th-that tickles!!" but Hueningkai couldn't be bothered, he happily showered the smaller boy with love._

_Once he left Taehyun breathless he helped both of them up while panting between breaths and laughter._

_"Happy anniversary Hyunnie, I love you" He finally says, "Happy anniversary Hyuka, I love you too"_

Taehyun sobbed as quietly as he could, his body feeling legarthic from their already tough practices each day and to top emotional burden on top of it all. He was bound to break.

Hueningkai slipped into the room quietly while it was very late, surprised to see the other 02 liners still awake and draped across their shared desk. Taehyun's notebook is opened showing Weverse while the boy is simply slouched there, almost unmoving. "Hyunnie...why are you still up?"

"Nothing….just….thinking…" the tangerine haired boy mumbled back. "Well actually….there's something I want to talk about…..about us" he nervously fidget with his fingers waiting for Taehyun to turn and face him, but he didn't. "No need….I get it...just go to bed Hyuka…" Heuningkai was surprised at the unusual passive aggressiveness. 

"Er...I actually thought….it might be better to talk about this as soon-" he went on to begin rambling crap but froze in his tracks when Taehyun turned to look at him. "H-Hyunnie….what's...what happened?"

Taehyun's eyes are swollen, the rim of his eyes are red and irises glassy with tears. Bits of his lips had dried blood, and his nose sniffs every once in a while.

"I know…..I already know Hyuk-Hueningkai, you don't love me that way anymore. I get it...it's fine…" his voice waver with despair, unable to contain the hollowed pain in his chest.

"Hyunnie..I....How…" Hueningkai guiltily cast his gaze down to the floor, "I'm sorry...I...I'm just sorry Hyunnie...but we're still friends..?" 

Taehyun seems to wail harder at that, confusing Hueningkai "Why…..why did you do it? I….I just don't...understand….why must you do it?" His words puzzled him even more but he was getting worried with how wreaked Taehyun sounded, so hopeless as if all the life was sucked out of him. "What....? What did I-"

Taehyun weakly raises his hand, his pinky raised in front of his eyes as more tears pour down, the red string dangles meaninglessly with nothing on its other end.

"You know…It's terrible enough…..to be rejected by the person….you were meant to be made for…..but... the most….tragic….horrid thing...that could ever happen….was to have your tie cut off….and end up soulmateless…." Taehyun's eyes stared deep into Hueningkai horrified ones, the youngest clasp a hand over his mouth.

"What did I do…..for you to hate me to such extent?"

_Taehyun was napping on the top bunk, a tingle on his pinky stirred him awake. That was weird, he's never felt the string like that before, what is Hyuka doing?_

_Taehyun quietly peeks down to look at the stydy desk, he remembered Hueningkai was doing his homework, but he saw somwthing else._

_A pair of scissors in hand and the red string that tied the two of them together laid in between the sharp blades. Hueningkai's eyebrows furrowed in frustration, fingers working meticulously and quickly as if he hadn't wanted to be caught._

_Taehyun's eyes widened, mouth wanting to shout out pleas of 'No's at the youngest but no words came out, his voice unable to voice out at the heartbreaking scene._

**_*snips* *snips* *snips*_ **

_He saw the exact moment the string broke, felt it when the emptiness that came with his broken bond with Hueningkai engulfed him. A warm candle blew out by the cold merciless wind._

_At that moment, the bond wasn't the only thing that broke, if his heart could bleed he would've drowned in his own crimson._

_It did not hurt, in fact, it's the complete opposite. He felt nothing, no ache or burn. Taehyun starts to sob, a hand clamping his mouth shut, the emptiness might as well be the most painful thing he's ever felt._  
  
_The string shortened till it was only a few centimeters long, a reminder that he was cut away from his soulmate, that he no longer has a soulmate._

Hueningkai takes a few hasty steps forward, reaching his arms out to comfort and apologize but Taehyun backs away from him shaking his head wildly. "Grandma was right, I wished I was never able to see the strings" he gasps out, "Taehyun I'm ...I'm sorry….I didn't know...I…"

Of course, if he had known Taehyun could see it too then he would've kept on deceiving Taehyun with this facade. Hueningkai knows damn well he had been cruelly selfish, his strong blossoming feelings for Soobin had pushed him into thinking he couldn't be with Soobin if he were tied to Taehyun. 

He hadn't thought there could even be a mere chance Taehyun was someone like him, someone born with the ability to see and tamper with the red string of fate. Now seeing his supposed boyfriend all wrecked with his emotions, breaking down to bits all because of him even though all Taehyun ever did to him was endlessly shower him with pure love.

What had he done?

_

_"Taehyunnie...what are you doing?"_  
_"These strings...they're pretty grandma!"_  
_"Ah...Taehyun ah, you are special like me, not everyone can see those pretty strings"_  
_"Really?! That's so cool!! But what does this mean?"_  
_"You see Taehyunnie, there is someone out there tied on the other end of your string. That person is very special to you, they're your soulmate"_  
_"My soulmate...wow...when will I meet them?!"_  
_"Haha...who knows? Though...I always thought it's better to not be able to know who your soulmate is…"_  
_"Why is that grandma?"_  
_"That way…." She fidget with her own strand with nothing on it's other end. "You could never get hurt"_

_

Yeonjun threw Hueningkai a couple hardened stares during breakfast, Taehyun had gone to seek comfort from his eldest hyung. The eldest did not even bother to pry, he simply welcomed a heartbroken sobbing Taehyun into his bed and cuddled the younger close while murmuring comforting words in his ears. 

Truthfully he was shocked, there aren't a lot of things in life that could faze Taehyun, the smaller boy had always shown a strong independent front and he's always proud of Taehyun for it. But when Taehyun with his face painted with misery came to him, it made him burn with anger, who and what could've dared to tear down his strong amazing Hyunnie?

"Hyuka broke up with me" _He cut off our soulmate string_

_Oh_

That made the situation lot more complicated than he'd like it to be, for all that matters, he can't really blame Hueningkai for being honest about what he feels but it was also kind of surreal knowing how obviously in love the two maknaes are and for Hueningkai to suddenly ask for a breakup is odd. 

Yet it has yet to explain to Yeonjun why such a thing affected Taehyun so much, he swears the younger's skin is burning up with signs of fever. The eldest haunched it was more than a breakup, there was something more to it but Yeonjun knows he can save those questions for a different time. Right now, he has to make sure Taehyun is alright.

But first, they gotta fix this before it affects the whole team dynamics itself.

Two days later, they gathered in the hyungs room for a team meeting. Soobin did not look too pleased and neither was Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai had been acting so stiff and awkward around each other, avoiding gazes and touch that it took two whole days for Soobin to finally decide he wasn't having it and put his foot down, rounding them up to talk about about it as a team.

"So….anyone would like to start?" Heuningkai is avoiding his gaze while Taehyun just blankly stared back. Beomgyu sigh, "What's going on guys? Has a lover's spat gone too deep or something?" Heuningkai shakes his head "We're….not lovers anymore.." Taehyun bit his lips at that, at the end of the day, he still loved Hyuka so yes, his heart will ache each time he's reminded of that.

Beomgyu and Soobin nearly choked on nothing, Yeonjun reassuringly squeezed Taehyun's hand. "So...this is why…" Soobin covered his face with a hand, "I just need a little time hyung….I'll get better" Taehyun supplied, Hueningkai whispers a 'sorry' that is not as quiet as he thought he's making it to be. "Are you?"

The youngest nearly flinched at the emotionless voice that came from Taehyun "Taehyun...look, this may be hurtful to say but if Hyuka doesn't feel the same-" and imagine the surprise on the leader's face when Taehyun cuts his words off, Taehyun has never done that. But what shocked him more were the words that spilled from the younger's mouth.

"Do you know how it feels to lose someone you love? Do you know how it feels when the person you loved and cherished decided to throw you away so easily like garbage? Soobin hyung, do you know what it feels to lose your _soulmate_? We didn't need to be lovers, we could just stay as friends. But he still chose to cut the string, he still wants our bond broken" How can someone so emotionless talk with such heartbreaking words while maintaining that blank face that's shaking, threatening to break.

"The universe said we were meant to be together, however that is, but he didn't want to. I always thought it was a blessing that I could see the strings that tied soulmates together…" He shows them his pinky although he knows only Hueningkai could see what he can, the maknae looking away in shame of what he's done. "No it's just a curse, my soulmate doesn't want me. And if the person who was created to complete me, to be with me...doesn't want me….who will?"

"Taehyun, I'm sorry I'm so sorry!! I didn't mean for it to be this way….I didnt know what I was thinking!! But I could never feel that way about you! You're my friend! I do want you in my life" But Taehyun wasn't listening, too tired of it. Maybe one day he can learn to accept it and move on, but for now, he needs time. Taehyun turned to look at his dumbstruck leader. "All I ask is for some time to heal" and he gets up to leave, Yeonjun following him a second later.

Soobin slowly began to nod, "You two….can see soulmate strings…?" Beomgyu asks curiously. Hueningkai who nods, Soobin turns to look at the maknae angrily "Why would you do that?" he demands but was quick to dismiss his anger and apologize. 

Beomgyu looked torn for some reason, his face morphing to horrified "You did it for Soobin didn't you?" he asks, almost afraid. This had Soobin nearly breaking his neck with how fast he whipped his head at Beomgyu "I just thought you were clinging to hyung cuz you missed your siblings….you cut yours and Taehyun's so you could be with Soobin" Heuningkai gaped at Beomgyu, speechless at how the hyung was spot on.

"Wait hold on, me? You...liked _me_?" Soobin questioned him, "Y-yeah…" Hueningkai answers hopefully with tinges of pink dusted on his cheeks. Soobin frowns, anyone could see the sorry look on the leader's face "Hyuka...I don't see you that way…" the pain felt like a stab on the chest.

Ah, so that's why he can't connect the string to Soobin no matter how hard he tried. 

"Oh, I see…that's fine...I...just...fine" _so this is what you felt Hyunnie? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry._ The two decide the maknae should spend a little more time alone to reflect. At dinner, he was told to bring food to Yeonjun and Taehyun who had been camping in his shared room with Taehyun all day.

He slips in to see Taehyun sound asleep while laying on top of Yeonjun who was also deep in sleep, the eldest arms securely around the younger. Hueningkai sighs, still guilty for hurting Taehyun but he saw something. 

Hueningkai is sure Taehyun also knows how Yeonjun doesn't have a string, he was one of the rare people to be born without soulmates, but since the elder can't see it, he doesn't and could never know that. His pinky is empty ever since they met him…...until this moment. 

The string from Taehyun's pinky slowly extends, gracefully like a ribbon, it loops around Yeonjun's pinky and secures itself. The troubled look on Taehyun's sleeping face cools off into a small gentle smile. He looked more peaceful, as if the weight of the world is no longer on his shoulders. Yeonjun shifted and held him closer.

Hueningkai watched without a word, something inside himself ache in a hollowish way. 

_"Do you know what it feels like to lose your soulmate?"_

"Yeah….it feels...empty"

**Author's Note:**

> Tyunning angst at your service! 
> 
> @ at me on twitter I'm @TyunnieBFF


End file.
